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Page 40 text:
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fn agnificently situated on the hills overlooking the Tagus River, Lisbon is one of the cleanest cities in all Europe. Its deep anil sheltered harbor is seven miles from the ocean at a point where the river is 9 miles wide. Alter the earthcpiake of 1755, when the city was reduced to rubble in ten minutes, Lisbon was completely rebuilt. Only a lew Moorish castles are left to remind today ' s visitor of the city ' s ancient history.
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Page 39 text:
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in the tfteditewaHeah ■to Nav) uniform creating good will and a bette: undei standing with the people with whom he comes in con- tact. During a regular Eour-month toui ol dut) with the Sixth Fleet, sailors on shore leave may visit Athens, Greece ( Say, we studied aboul the Acropolis in oui histor) class ); Venice ( It ' s not like the movie s ); Naples, Genoa, and Rome ( 1 shook the Pope ' s hand! ); Gibraltei ( So that ' s the big rock ); Casablanca ( 1 didn ' t see Humphrey Bogart ); Rhodes ( Deal Mom- It ' s wonderful ); and a score ol oilier places thai at- tra t tourists the world over. Like his predecessor Admi- ral Forrest P. Sherman, now Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Commander Ballentine is a student ol the Mediter- ranean. Having served in the Med on two cruises as an aircraft carrier division com- mander, he unhesitatingly de- scribes his duty as the best in the Navy. His guest book reads like an international Who ' s Who; it is inscribed with names of kings and queens, presidents, governors, mayors, cardinals and bishops, dukes and duchesses. He collects and reads avidly everything published about the Mediterranean, supplementing his reading knowledge during calls with tours and conversations with officials. Each visit is a good will mission. Newspapers of the countries of the Mediterranean refer to Admiral Ballen- tine ' s ships as the friendly fleet. Rarely do all the ships of the Sixth Fleet call at the same port at the same time. fter Fleet exercises, or perhaps a mock amphibious landing on some foreign shore with the approval of the government concerned, units and groups are detached to visit various ports. Later all meet at sea to continue their training. For the significant diplo- matic chore of extending the Fleet ' s good will to local offi- cials, Admiral Ballentine is assisted by two rear admirals, the commanders of the cruiser and carrier divisions included with the Fleet. Their sched- ule in port is a busy one. The entire first day in port may be spent in calling on local officials, with the evening devoted to an official reception. The second day sees the local authorities returning the Admiral ' s call on shipboard. Whenever possible, a recep- tion is held on board the flagship to repay local courtesies. Greeting the press, attending local church services and public celebrations and reviewing parades make the schedule in port a crowded one. Only Admiral Ballentine ' s immediate staff of twenty officers and about one hundred and fifty men remain in the Mediterranean area for a period longer than four months. Staff personnel normally stay from eighteen to twenty months supervising the training of each succes- sive group. In most cases, the married staff members have their wives and families in Europe with them, some residing at Villefranche or Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, others in Naples and Rome, with some fol- lowing the Fleet. Over holiday periods, the members ol the staff ma) go on leave or theii wives and families m,i join them .ii the port where the) happen to he inn poraril) based. The bulk ol the Fleet ' s fuel oil is obtained from tankei s. With the exception ol some fresh liuiis. vegetables and other pei ishables, all supplies are brought out in ships from the United Slates about ever) six weeks. Perishables are pur- chased locallv by the individ- ual ship suppl) officers but onl) when mkIi supplies are in excess ol local needs. Bids are requested Eor the ma- terial needed and the order is given to the lowest bicldei capable of meeting specifications. Large-scale replenishments of food, fuel oil, aviation gasoline and other supplies, an all hands job, are us- tomarily made in replenishment anchorages, where Stan members make a minimum of official calls. Necessary replenishments also are effected while the ships are at sea, perfecting the techniques developed during World War II for keeping the Fleet uninterruptedly in action. The communication system in the Sixth Fleet, as in all large and compl ex organizations, is the coordinating lifeline. Few activities ' of the Navy compare with the Sixth Fleet command in volume of communications traffic handled. Scores of radio and visual messages are initiated and received on board the Fleet flagship daily, keeping far-flung operations at all times under control. Mail from the United States is delivered 1 Milium Air Transport Service planes on an average of five days after it is posted, if the ships are in port. Mail for the Fleet is first deposited at Port Lyauty, French Morocco, where it is sorted and bagged for individual ships. Then it is flown to the ports where the ships are anchored or scheduled to call. When the ships arrive in port, mail is awaiting them. As in all military organizations, this is an important factor in keeping high the spirits of men away from their loved ones. Duty with this potent .Med- iterranean force is prized. A nineteen-year-old flagship ra- dioman comments: I ' ve been out here three months now. Time goes fast. Maybe it ' s because we ' re always doing something. I joined the Naw to see the world, and believe me. I ' m seeing it. A salt in the staff communications gang chimes in: I shipped ovei just to get this duty and I consider sea duty in the Med as the best there is. I ' ve been out here for over two years and after I get back to the States to see my lolks. I ' m putting in for this duty again. This is the United States Sixth Fleet, described In Admiral Sherman as a powerful factor in maintaining the policies and prestige of the United States in the Mediterranean. It is a far cry horn those earl) la s when the sheer boldness and daring of one man named Decatur made history in these wauis and set the pat- tern for what is more easil) felt than defined as Naw tradition.
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